Trying To Heal
by superwho-rhi
Summary: *Sequel to Just A Scrape* Set a year after Sam fell into the Pit with Michael and Lucifer. Dean and Rhiannon tried to live a normal life while Sam was gone, but now that he's back...everything is about to change...
1. Chapter 1

"Gosh…how in the hell did you get so lucky?" I hear my co-worker say. I look up from my patient's chart to Alice, a slightly overweight but still gorgeous red-headed nurse standing next to me at the nurses' station. I follow the dreamy gaze she had on her face to the front doors of the ER we worked at to the handsome man standing in there.

A smile slips onto my face as I watch Dean's gaze finally land on me. A smirk grows on his face as he starts to walk over to me. "I don't know if I'd call it luck," I tell Alice as Dean nears me. My gaze drops from his face to the white bag in his hand. "I just got him trained well."

"Yeah, trained by fear," Dean adds as he nears us. I eye the bag hungrily as he sits it down in front of me, missing Alice visibly swooning as he reached in front of her to give me the bag. "You do not want to see her when she's hungry."

"Mm-hmm," I nod in agreement. "It's almost as scary as when Dean misses his 'show'."

"Yeah, keep talkin like that and see how often I bring you lunch," he says, narrowing his eyes at me a fraction. I roll my eyes at him as I walk around Alice to be nearer to him.

"Yet again, he knows me too well," I say, placing a hand on my hip. He gives me another smirk before starting to reach out towards me. Instinctively, I take a small step back while holding my hands up, keeping him from coming any closer to me. "Nuh-uh, honey," I say with a smile. "No touchey. Who knows what kind of germs I got on me!"

"Mmmm," he says. He halfway looks at Alice and rolls his eyes. I have to suppress a laugh at the way Alice's breathing speeds up when he looks at her. "The joys of dating a nurse, huh? Can't even touch her half the time."

A small giggle leaves my lips as I take a step closer to him. Craning my neck, I reach up a plant a chaste kiss on his lips, careful not to let any other parts of our bodies touch. "Thank you for lunch," I say, my voice dropping in volume slightly.

"Anything for you," he says, a tight smile on his face. "You get off at seven?" I nod my head at him, a piece of hair falling into my face. "Alright, I'll pick you up then."

I shut my eyes in voluntarily as Dean leans forward again and plants a kiss on my cheek. When I open my eyes again I watch Dean walk away from us and out the front door, throwing back one last smile my way.

I hear Alice let out another sigh. "How in the hell did you get so lucky?" she repeats.

To any outside observers, me and Dean were a perfectly happy couple. Heck, most days I could fool myself into thinking the same thing too. It was the other days that reminded me of what had happened, and that it was still haunting us. When we first arrived at my Granny's cabin, where we mutually decided we would reside, Dean spent the first two weeks in a drunken stupor. I let him ride it out, checking on him to make sure he hadn't drunk himself to death. Finally, I poured all the alcohol down the drain. He stared at me as the last drop circled the drain, emotions playing across his face. The next day, he came home in the evening, sober, stating he had gotten a job at a garage in town.

After that, our lives settled into somewhat of a normal routine. We would both ride into town together to work, me to the small hospital and him to the auto garage. Once our days were over, we'd head home where Dean or I would cook dinner. We even made friends with some people we each worked with, going on outings with them. On the outside looking in, you'd never be able to tell we were both former hunters. At night though, as we were going to bed, I pretended I couldn't see Dean checking the devil's traps by the doors or holy water and gun he kept under the bed.

Life was…normal, just like Sam wanted for Dean. We never talked about Sam or hunting, or anything that had happened since we had met. Bobby was only mentioned every now and then. Post-Sam Dean, as I referred to him in my mind, was someone I had envisioned myself meeting and marrying someday: a perfect gentlemen, stable job, made me feel safe, a normal guy. But, Post-Sam Dean wasn't the man I had fallen in love with. I figured I could learn to live with him though, adjust my former expectations. That was until one night about a year after Sam had left.

"Something is off with you," I say, staring across the truck at Dean. He had just picked me up from the hospital and I could tell by his flushed skin that something was up. "You look like…"

"I look like what?" Dean says, giving me a too-calm glance. "I just had a drink with Rick at the bar."

"That's it?" I prod. He looked like he had just run for his life…or like he had just hunted something.

"Yeah," he says, giving me a grin. "Well, maybe it was two drinks."

"Need me to drive?" I say, returning his grin. He shakes his head at me as we roll out of town.

Later that night, I stand in the doorway of our bedroom, watching Dean double and triple checking the devil's traps under some rugs by the doors. When he turns around, he freezes when he sees me watching him. "I- um, yeah, um," he tries to stammer out.

I shake my head at him. "You don't have to explain yourself Dean," I say quietly. "Just come on to bed." He lets out a sigh as he walks over towards me, grabbing me around the waist as we walked into the room together.

"Dean?" I yell into the house as I walk in. I'm met with silence as dread starts to creep through my veins. I call his name out again and am once again met with silence. I walk back out of the house, the dirt still settling along our drive from where one of my coworkers had brought me home after Dean never showed up. I start off towards the shed that stood on the property, wondering if maybe Dean was in there. Walking into it, I see the tarp thrown off the Impala. "Crap, crap, crap," I mutter to myself, seeing the trunk open, weapons spread out in it. Sprinting back to the house, I pull out my phone, calling Dean over and over again.

After being sent straight to voicemail for the fifteenth time, I pull up a different number, one I hadn't called in over a year. "Rhiannon?" the gruff voice on the other end says.

"Bobby," I say, glad to hear his voice again. "I've got a problem."

"Well ain't that a way to greet me after not talking to me for a year," he grunts back.

"Bobby I'm serious," I say. I reach down under the bed, finding the gun missing. I walk over to the closet to start searching for my own. "It's Dean. He isn't home, his weapons are strewn all over the Impala, and he isn't answering his phone. This isn't like him."

Bobby lets out a sigh before responding. "Has he been acting different lately? Ever done anything like this before?"

"No, not at all," I say quickly, finally having found my gun. I check the clip, still fully loaded.

"Okay," Bobby says. "First off, don't panic, alright? Get in one room, salt yourself in. You got a gun?" I tell him I do as I walk from the room to the kitchen. "Good, load it up and stay put. I'll make some calls and see if he's contacted anyone."

"Okay, sounds good," I say. "Thanks Bobby." I hang up the phone, tossing it on the bed.

I sit in the bedroom for hours, making sure the salt lines are solid, calling Dean, checking my gun. After it becomes dark, I hear noise from the other side of the door. "Rhi?" I hear the voice I had been waiting to hear call out.

"Dean?" I yell back. Walking up to the door, I click the safety off my gun, holding it up. I steady it as the door slowly opens, revealing Dean.

"What the hell Rhi?" he says, holding his hands up at the sight of the gun. He glances around the room, taking in the salt lines beneath him and along the windows. "What's up with the salt and the gun?"

"What do you think?" I half-squeal at him. "You don't show up to pick me up, I come home and you're nowhere to be seen. Weapons are everywhere all over your car and you wouldn't answer your phone! What did you expect me to do!?"

"Okay, okay," he says, stepping towards me. "Look at me, I'm fine. Just put the gun down." I obey him, dropping the gun down by my side. "Okay, good, now. I have something to show you, but it's going to be a little bit of a shock."

"What do you mean…a shock?" I say, arching an eyebrow at him.

"I mean…" he says, trying to form the right phrase. "Well let's start with me taking that gun."

"Why do you want my gun?" I say, gripping it tighter.

"You're just going to have to trust me," he says, looking at me with a serious stare.

I pause a few seconds, staring at him. Finally, with a sigh, I hand him my gun. "You're lucky I trust you," I say. He only gives me a little smirk before the stony expression settles on his face again. Extending a hand towards the door, he steps to the side motioning for me to head towards the door. I give him a worried glance as I slowly step to the door. My stomach flips and flops, coming up with a thousand different scenarios as to what was waiting in the living room. I feel Dean's presence close behind me as I step through the doorway. A gasp escapes my lips as I spot the familiar tall hunter standing in front of me. "What the hell?" I exclaim. Out of pure instinct, I reach to the back of my waistband and pull out the sliver knife I had stashed there, holding it towards Sam, who was standing behind the couch smiling at me.

"Woah, whoa, whoa," Dean says. He grabs my wrist holding the knife while also grabbing me around the waist, stopping my advance towards Sam. "Calm down Rhi."

"That can't be him," I yell, fighting the iron clad hold Dean has on me. His grip tightens on my wrist until my reflexes betray me, causing me to drop the knife. "He's demon or a shape shifter!"

"It's him Rhi," Dean says in my ear. "Rhi, I promise you it's him."

"It really is," Sam finally says, the smile gone from his face.

At the sound of his voice, I stop fighting against Dean. "Really," I ask. Sam looks at me, giving me his signature puppy dog eyes while nodding his head. I feel Dean release me, figuring I won't attack.

"I already tested him," Dean says. "Silver, holy water…he's him."

I stare Sam down as he looks back at me cautiously, not sure what I'm going to do. I take a couple steps towards him. "But…" I say, staring at Sam, like he was some sort of interesting science experiment. "How…" I was truly at a loss for words. It was hard to believe that Sam was standing right in front of me…but there he was. I look from him back to Dean. "I need some sort of explanation…right now."

Dean lets out a sigh as he looks from Sam back to me. I tried searching his face for something…any type of clue as to what was going, but his face was blank. "Last night- before I picked you up from work- I thought I saw something. And then again earlier today. Then, Sam showed up and saved my ass."

"It's a djinn," Sam says. I turn back around to look at him. He looks at me, his stare unwavering. "I've been tracking it down. It's been after Dean for a few days."

"A few days?" I say, my eyes shooting open wide. "You've been back for a few days?"

The silence hangs in the room as the two brothers look at each other with wary glances. I whip my head back and forth, looking at them. Dean takes a couple steps towards me and grabs onto my forearm, keeping a tight grip. "Rhiannon," Sam says with a sigh. "I've been back for a year."

By the way Dean was holding my arm, I guess he expected my first reaction to be rage. But instead, betrayal hit me. My knees wavered a bit and I fell back towards Dean, who placed a hand on my lower back to hold me up. "What?" I let out in a whisper. My mind was blank; I had no clue how to react. The silence was filling the room and honestly…I just couldn't take what was going on anymore. I hadn't noticed Dean's grip on my arm had loosened until I tried to walk away, his hand falling away easily. I stormed out of the house into the dark night, no clue where I was going. I turned to the right, heading towards the shed, still not sure why I was heading that way. Inside, the back end of the familiar black car was still exposed. Walking up to it, I run my hand over the smooth metal of it, trying to control the heaving breathing that was coming on. "Rhi?" I hear Dean's voice say behind me. I should've known he was going to follow me. I turn around to face him, seeing him flinch a little bit, probably because of the manic look that was creeping up on my face. "You okay?"

"Okay?" I snap back in disbelief. Sam walks up behind Dean, looking at me with a cautious expression also. It had escaped my noticed until that precise moment that I never really got the chance to "deal" with Sam's jumping in the pit or the fact that I had died. From the moment the hole closed up, I was only worried about Dean, after that it was the same story…keeping Dean from going off the deep end. But now, at possible the worst moment, I was able to let it out. "Am I okay?" I repeat. "_Am I okay?" _I full on yell it that time, the hysteria finally rearing its ugly head. "No Dean, I am not friggin _okay_! Your brother, one of my very best friends, jumped into a cage _containing _two archangels just moments after I came back from the friggin dead because the angel that was possessing me sacrificed herself to save you! _Am I okay?" _At this point I didn't realize I had been walking towards them, but now I was inches away from Dean, spewing my hysteria all over him. "How in the hell am I supposed to be _okay_! Sam is alive and has been for over a year? What kind of bull is that?"

"Rhiannon, I understand that-" Sam starts to talk before I cut him off.

"You don't get to speak!" I say, pointing a finger at him while more force than necessary. I turn my attention back to Dean who was still staring at, a shocked look on his face. "So what Dean?" I say to him, the hysteria finally subsiding. "This life is done? We're back in it?"

He lets out a sigh, closing his eyes. When he opens them, a glimmer of the old Dean resurfaces. "I don't know, but right now we need to get going."

I let out a sigh, suddenly feeling utterly spent. "Where?"


	2. Chapter 2

The sight of Bobby Singer's house coming into view was just about enough to send me into tears. It was the only other place that felt like home besides Granny's cabin…and the Impala. As the truck came to a stop in front of the house, I was practically pushing Sam out of the cab.

I eagerly run up the steps to the front door, opening it without even bothering to knock. "Bobby?" I yell as I enter the house, the familiar smells of mold and whiskey greeting my nose. When I saw him come around the corner into the front hallway I did what was probably last thing that was expected by throwing my arms around his neck. He lets out a huff of air as I feel him pat my back a couple times.

"Good to see you kid," he says as I let go of him. "Hell of a hello after a year of not talking to me."

"Sorry about that," I mumble. Behind me, I hear Dean and Sam walk in.

I turn and look at them. Me and Dean brace ourselves for Bobby's reaction to seeing Sam. Bobby lets out a sigh when he sees Sam. "Sam," he says, giving him a nod.

"Hey Bobby," Sam says back.

Me and Dean look between the two of them, shocked looks on our faces. "You knew?" Dean accuses Bobby.

"How long have you known?" I add.

"All year," Bobby mumbles.

"So you knew when I called you last night?" I say, the betrayed feeling coming back.

"Yes I did," he says, gaining some sort of confidence in his voice.

"What the hell Bobby?" Dean throws his hands in to the air, just as unbelieving as I was.

"And I'd keep it from you two again in a heartbeat," the old hunter grunts at us.

"Why would you keep this from us?" I hadn't realized that Dean had stepped up next to me. It was a kind of surreal feeling, having Bobby and Sam against me and Dean. Actually, it was just really weird knowing that the other two hunters in the room had kept this huge secret from Dean.

"Because you two got out," Bobby suddenly yells. "And I was so damn glad for it you got no idea."

"Did you not think we would want to know about this?" Dean yells back. "You have no clue what walking away meant to me."

"We were miserable Bobby," I also yell. After my statement, the room went drop-a-ant-and-hear-it silent.

"What?" I wasn't sure if Dean had actually said it, the question was said so quietly.

"You have no clue what we've been through this past year," I say through gritted teeth. "You didn't see the drinking and the fighting and the-" I'm stopped by the feel of Deans' hand coming around the top of my arm.

"A phone call saying that my friggin brother was alive would've been nice," Dean says.

I shrug his hand off and walk past Bobby into what we all considered the living room. "At least I didn't have to worry about you two getting chased by anything this year," I heard Bobby say. Their voices were getting closer as the sound of their boots told me they were following me into the room. I ignore them though, continuing to stare out the window at the junk cars. "You two had a normal life."

I let out a humorless snort, shaking my head. "I've had a normal life Bobby and that was far from it," I say to the window.

"Well boo-hoo for trying to look after you two," Bobby says.

"So what now?" I say, turning to look at the three guys behind me. "You said a djinn was after Dean. What now?"

"We actually just came here to drop you off," Sam says. "We're going to go back and stop it."

"You've got-" I start to yell, but stop. I was sick of fighting. "Fine. You know what, whatever."

I push past them, Dean reaching out to try and stop me. I make it about halfway down the hallway upstairs before the sound of boots and an arm grabbing me stops me. "Hey, Rhi, hold up," Dean's gruff voice says. "We've gotta talk about this." He says, turning me to face him.

"No, no we don't Dean," I say. "This whole situation is just…it's crazy!" I shout at him. "Do you not realize how out of my mind I was yesterday when you didn't come pick me up? Then Sam shows up after we thought he was dead for the past year and now you are wanting to drop me of to be babysat while you go back to kill this thing that is specifically after you?"

He lets out a sigh as he gently grabs my other arm, pulling me close to him. "Look, I get it, and I'm sorry," he says. "But this is the only thing I can think of right now. I can't have anything happen to you…I just can't."

"What about after?" I say, the edge in my voice wearing off. "After this djinn is dead?"

Instead of answering right away he pulls me to him, tucking my head under his chin. Despite my anger, I wrap my arms around his waist, breathing in the scent of him. "I don't know," he says into my hair. "We'll figure that out, okay?"

I pick my head up off his chest and lean back a little bit to look up at him. "Just please, please don't do anything stupid and be careful."

He gives me a half smirk. "You know I'm always careful." Before I realize it, he leans down and presses his lips to mine. A minute later, he releases me and walks back down the hallway and down the stairs.

A few hours later after a much needed nap I made my way downstairs to find Bobby in the kitchen reading a book. "Hey Bobby," I say as I walk into the room. He looks up at me, giving me a wary stare. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna go off on you."

"Good," he says in a grunt. "You may be tiny but you're still not one I want to piss off."

"You know my bark is worse than my bite," I say, sliding into the chair across the table from him. "Especially these days when I don't have an angel juicing me up from the inside."

"So Haniel is totally gone?" Bobby asks, shutting his book.

"Yeah, she is," I say, nodding my head. "When Lucifer did whatever he did to her, it knocked her out of me for good."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," he says. It was silent between us for few minutes. I looked around the kitchen, it was dirtier than the last time I was here. I would have to do something about that while I was here. "So, was it really as bad as you said?"

"I'm pretty sure the first two weeks he drank the equivalent of the Gulf of Mexico." I say, resting my cheek against my fist. "It was…it was bad."

"I knew he'd take it hard but…"

"It wasn't even the drinking that bothered me," I say, straightening up. "At least with the drinking he stayed home and pretty much quiet. It was after the drinking that it got really bad." I run a hand through my hair. "Trying, to live the nine-to-five life was…it was slowly chipping away everything he was, everything I knew him to be. Also trying to find a way out for Sam was…" I shake my head, remembering back to the times. "That's where most of our fights started."

"You didn't want him looking for Sam," Bobby accuses.

"No," I say with a shake of my head. "I really didn't mind that he was looking for him a way out. Heck, I would've helped him. I just worried about him staying up all night, pouring over the books, not getting any sleep. I know he did that every now and then when he hunted…but not every night like he was doing. And I told him that…and that would just set him off. I've never fought with anyone like that."

"Bad?"

"Oh yeah," I say, nodding my head. A small voice in the back of my head wondered way I was telling all this to Bobby. At the same time though, I knew I just needed someone else to understand what all had happened. "It never got physical or anything, neither of us laid hands on each other. But there was a lot…a lot of yelling and screaming, getting in each other's faces…and accusations that were totally off-base. I think I actually threw a skillet at him once." Bobby's eyes widen a fraction. "You know he's got quick reflexes…it missed him."

"Well hell girl," he says, shaking his head. "You could've called me."

"I thought about it…" I muse. "But the next morning or a few hours later we'd be right back to how we had been…a somewhat-normally functioning couple."

"Couple?" the old hunter raises his eyebrows at me. It was an interesting phrasing to describe me and Dean.

"Yeah," I say, waving a hand in the air, as if to dismiss the word. "It was our cover story…of sorts. Hometown girl returns home to live in sin with her drunk boyfriend."

Despite the heavy topic, Bobby lets out a small chuckle. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"And he was good at it," I say, wonder still in my voice. "He was good at the normal life. Everybody loved him at the shop he worked at, we went to a few football games, he kept up the outside of the house, cooked dinner…he was good at it, on the outside."

"On the outside?"

"Like I said, I could see living that life was chipping away who he was…who I-we know him to be," I say. I shake my head again. "The nightmares were probably almost as bad as the fighting."

"Dean was having nightmares?" I know it sounded like an oddity, someone was courageous as Dean having nightmares.

I nod my head slowly. "We both were actually. Some of the stuff I saw when I was with Michael…" A light shudder runs through me as I remember the senseless killings. "I think Dean's may have been worse. I'd wake up in the middle of the night, him gripping my arm so tight I'd have a bruise for a week." I look down at my hands, noticing I had twisted them into an almost painful knot. Undoing them, I spread my fingers wide across the table. "Maybe…I don't know…maybe, even though I'm still _highly _ mad about not knowing that Sam was back…maybe this'll be good for Dean."

"You always have to find the positive side of things…don't you?" Bobby says, a smile trying to peak through his beard.

I let out a small laugh, mirroring his smile. "Oh, in this line of work…you have to," I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. "Do you know how long it'll take them to get the djinn?"

Bobby gives me a noncommittal shrug. "Shouldn't take them more than a couple days."

Bobby was right…a couple days later, about dawn, I heard tires crunching on the gravel outside the house. Luckily for them, I hadn't had much sleep the night before so breakfast was just about cooked by the time they walked in the door. I had forgotten how nerve wracking waiting on them to get back from a hunt could be.

"Well that smells good," Bobby says, walking into the kitchen behind me. "Been up a while?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding my head. I transfer the bacon from the skillet to a plate before sitting it on the table. "I just heard the boys pull up too."

"Must be putting some gear away," Bobby grunts, sitting down at the table with a cup a coffee.

Sure enough, about two minutes later, Dean and Sam come walking in the back door. Relief washes over me as I see they're both alive and walking, but then I quickly purse my lips seeing the bruising starting to form on Dean's cheek. "What happened to being careful?" I say as he walks up to me.

He gives me a shrug as he leans against the counter next to me. "I'm alive aren't I?" he asks, as if that should be enough. I shake my head at him as he leans down and quickly plants a kiss on my temple.

After getting the rest of the food on the table, I join the other three men sitting opposite Sam and next to Bobby. "So…djinn taken care of?" I ask.

"Yup," Sam says, pulling a phone out of his pocket. I eye him suspiciously as he leaves his plate empty.

"Just you two got rid of it?" I say, arching an eyebrow at Dean.

"Well," he says, his mouth full of biscuits and gravy. "We had some help." I continue to stare at him, waiting on further explanation. Once he's swallowed the mouthful of food, he gives me a nervous look. "Sam has actually been hunting with some family from our mom's side."

"And they helped you out?"

"Yeah," Dean says, nodding his head, trying to avoid looking me right in the eye. "Few cousins and our grandfather, Samuel."

"So," I say, wiping my mouth off with a napkin. "Not only is your brother back from the dead…some family you never knew about has reappeared too?"

"Yeah," Sam says, intently scrolling through his phone, plate still empty. "Don't know who pulled Samuel down, just like we don't know who pulled me up."

I stare down at my plate, still covered in food. Suddenly, my appetite was gone. I push my chair back as the three men stare at me. "Eat some dang food Sam," I say, standing up. I walk outside, none of them saying a word to me.

A little while later, Dean finds me outside in Bobby's shed, messing with some tool I probably shouldn't even be touching. "So is this going to be your new thing?" he says, the sound of his voice making me jump. "You running off when things get too much for you?"

I shake my head, sitting the tool down as Dean sits down in a chair across the makeshift table from me. "I don't know," I say with a sigh. "I just…"

"Look," Dean says after I'm silent for a minute. "We can go back to Georgia. I'm sure the hospital won't mind you being AWOL these past few days."

"It's not that," I say. Taking a deep breath, I square up my shoulders, looking Dean straight in the eye. "Two years ago, give or take a few months, you and Sam show up in my ER, whisk me away, change my life. A year later, Sam dies and me and you go live a somewhat-normal life. Then suddenly Sam shows up, telling us he wasn't dead that whole year and now you have all this family you never knew about? I'm just…" I look away from him, shaking my head. "I just wish that something…anything would stay the same. You know?" He doesn't say anything. When I look back at him, a guarded look was on his face, like all of this was his fault. "Dean, I'm not…I mean, I just-"

"Yeah, I get it Rhi," he says, cutting me off. "Well pack back up and head back, okay? I already told Sam no to going back out on the road with him."

I let out a sigh as I push myself up from the table. Dean watches me with wary eyes as I walk around the table. Instead of walking away again, I perch myself in Dean's lap, letting my feet dangle on one side. He wraps an arm around my waist as I drape an arm around his shoulders and neck to help support myself. "Dean, I love you, you know I do," I place my other hand on his chest as he looks me in the eyes, still not sure where I'm going with this. "But I swear if I have to go back to that hospital and listen to Alice tell me how lucky I am to have such a hot boyfriend I am going to throw _you _in the pit with Lucifer and Michael."

"So," Dean says, a smile growing on his face. He moves his arm, somehow pulling me closer to him. "Apple pie life over?"

"Oh, I'll still make you pie," I tease. "But yeah, we're hitting the road again."


	3. Chapter 3

I may have been ready to get back on the road…but I still wasn't ready. It's a weird balance. So after me and Dean had closed up Granny's cabin, quit our jobs, and consolidated our worldly possessions into two large army-issued duffels…he wasn't too thrilled at the fact I wasn't immediately going back out on the road.

"What do you mean you aren't going?" he practically roars at me.

I give him a non-committal shrug, pulling a shirt out of my duffel bag. "I just, I'm not ready to get back out there yet."

He stares at me for a second, wipes his mouth with his hand and then starts pacing the room. "This was all your idea," he says, still pacing in front of me.

"Dean, you've been doing this your whole life," I say, standing up from the bed. He stops pacing, stopping in front. He puffs out his chest, giving the illusion that he's a lot bigger than me than he already it. "You are a hunter. It's who you are. I'm still learning…still getting used to it. Plus you've already been on a hunt-"

"Yeah, didn't have much of a choice in that one," he snaps at me.

I shake my head at him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Well at least I know you're getting back to your old self now."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you are being a jerk," I yell at him. "What, are you going to force me to go? Throw me in the back of the Impala?"

"Oh don't even start that crap," Dean says, throwing a hand in the air. "Accusing me of things I haven't even done."

"Then stop being a jerk!" I yell at him. "I'm not going and that's final!"

"Fine!" Dean yells back at me. "Then don't expect to go with us ever again!"

Reaching back on to the bed, I grab my empty duffel bag and fling it at Dean's retreating figure, missing him and hitting the door by his head.

"Heard anything from them?" Bobby mumbles at me as I walk into the study.

It had been two days since Dean and Sam left to hunt whatever lead their grandfather had given them. "Nope," I say, plopping down on the couch by the window. "I think Dean's put a no-talk order on my head."

"Yeah," Bobby says with a huff, setting down the book he had been reading. "I heard your shouting match the other day."

"Good, then we don't have to talk about it," I say, picking up a book. We sit in silence, each reading a book about some random lore. The silence was finally broken by my phone ringing. I pull it out of my pocket to see a number I don't recognize on the screen. "Hello?"

"Rhiannon," a familiar voice says on the other end. "It's Sam."

I let out a sigh, closing the book in my lap. "What do you want?"

"We need your help on this case," he says flatly.

"No you don't," I snap back. I move the book the couch and stand up, starting to pace the rug in the middle of the room. "When do y'all ever need my help on a case?"

"Okay then," Sam says, an annoyed tone creeping into his voice. "We need your expertise."

"My expertise?" I stop pacing and look at Bobby who was staring at me with curiosity.

"Yes," he says. "Believe it or not, there are some things you are more…experienced in."

I let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. "Fine, what do you need to know?"

"Actually, this is more of a hands-on thing," Sam says.

I let out another sigh. "You've gotta be kidding me," I mumble. Moving the phone away from my mouth, I give Bobby a deadpan look. "You got a vehicle that actually runs out there I can borrow?"

I turn the Firebird off, seeing the Impala's headlights approach down the random stretch of back road Sam told me to meet them on. I had to admit, I really liked this car…_I may just have to claim it as my own…_

Getting out of the car, I stare at the Impala as it draws closer; ignoring the pain the bright headlights were actually causing my eyes. I cross my arms over my chest as Dean and Sam get out of the car and walk towards me. "Surprised you let him call me," I say to Dean. He comes to a stop in front of one of the headlights, casting a freaky shadow around himself. "Seeing as how I'm not allowed on anymore hunts."

"Yeah, well," he says, also crossing his arms over his chest. "Like he said…we need your expertise."

I uncross my arms and follow them to the backdoor of the Impala. On the other side of the door, I see the last thing I ever…_ever _expected to see. "What is a baby doing in your backseat?"

"This is…this is crazy…" I say, holding the baby on one of my hips. It was a really pretty baby…just like all babies are. I, of course, was instantly in love with him. "Why do y'all have friggin baby?"

"What were we supposed to do?" Dean says, watching me bounce the little boy on my hip. "Leave the kid there?"

"Or you know taken him to the cops?" I offer, sarcasm dripping in my voice.

"The cops would not have been able to protect it from whatever has been napping the other kids," Sam says.

I didn't' argue with that…he had a point. "Okay then, next crazy thing," I say. "What makes you think I'm an expertise with babies? Do you see little spawns of my uterus running around here?"

"No," Sam says. I look over at Dean, seeing him trying to fight back a smile at my phrasing. "But you are a woman-"

"Thanks for noticing."

Sam lets out an aggravated sigh as I look away from them, trying to pry a lock of my hair out of the baby's hand. "You should have some sort of maternal-"

"Look Rhi," Dean says, stopping Sam before he could put his other giant foot in his mouth. "We just need your help watching and taking care of the kid while we try and hunt down whatever was trying to take it. You are-were a nurse, surely you know how to take care of a kid."

I let out a sigh. "I was gonna work in the nicu before I got a job offer in the er," I say. I look down at the baby again. "Okay, fine. I'll help you."

"Thank you," Dean says, a relieved look washing over his face.

"Don't be too excited Winchester," I snap at him. "I'm still ticked at you for being a jerk the other day." A stony look settles back onto his face, but I could tell he was no longer mad at me. "So, if I'm gonna take care of this kid, we need to get supplies."

"There's a town not too far from here," Sam says. "We need to get out of town."

I nod my head as I turn and place the baby back in the car seat the boys had in the back. I vaguely wondered where they got it, but didn't say anything. Walking around to the other side of the car, I slide in as Sam and Dean slide into the front.

As soon as the car was turned on, Deans' loud music came screaming out of the speakers. Without even thinking about it, I practically launch myself over the back of the front seat and shut the radio off. "Hey!" Dean says, staring at me in disbelief for touching the stereo…the number one rule in his car.

"Do you want a screaming, cranky baby all the way to town?" I say, arching an eyebrow at him. He purses his lips at me as I push myself back over the seat. "That's what I thought. This car ride is going to be quiet so the little guy can get some sleep."

"Yes Mary Poppins," Dean mumbles as he clicks the car into gear.

As we drive down the road, the baby was quiet, but still wasn't falling asleep. I knew what would probably soothe it to sleep, but I didn't want the guys giving me crap about it. "Alright," I say, scooting over closer to the baby. "Both of y'all keep your mouths shut and don't say a word." Neither one of them say anything. I clear my throat a couple times before I start singing. I'm not claiming to be some word renowned singer, but Granny had always told me that the women in our family had the gift to soothe any baby to sleep with our voice. The song I was singing probably wasn't what you would consider to be a lullaby…but it always soothed me…and it was the first song I thought of.

_When I find myself in times of trouble_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_And in my hour of darkness_

_She is standing right in front of me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

By the time I got to the 'let it be's' the little baby was sound asleep. Once I finished up the verse, I relaxed back against the seat, feeling tired myself. Luckily, neither one of the guys said anything, but I did catch Dean looking at me in the rearview a couple times.

When we finally arrived in the next town the sun was starting to come up. We stop at a motel on the edge of town to book a room before heading all the way into town to get supplies. "Alright," I say, leading the guys into the store with the baby on my hip. "Just get what I tell you to, no questions asked, okay?" I hear Dean grumble something under his breath as we walk through the automatic doors. Grabbing a cart with a baby seat in it, I lay the baby down in it as he smiles up at me. The three of us walk down the baby aisle, Dean and Sam in front of the cart, grabbing items as I called them out to them. "Grab those diapers…no not those, the others. Yeah, get a tube of that butt paste…oh don't make that face at me. That formula there…oh grab one of those bags, the blue one, we'll need something to-"

"How much stuff do we need?" Dean groans, placing the diaper bag in the cart.

I glance down in the cart, taking inventory of what we had. "Grab that pack of onsies there and we should be good," I tell him. As we finally leave the aisle, I feel a pressing need on my bladder. "Alright, I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick while y'all pay. Keep an eye on the baby." I honestly had a bad feeling about leaving the baby with the two men…but the call of the bathroom was just too strong to wait until we got to the motel.

As I walk out of the bathroom, I immediately know something is wrong. "Dean!" I hear Sam yell. I bolt to the front of the store, seeing an older lady with the baby in her arms being chased by Dean. I watch as he grabs her arm then her flesh tear away. Using the distraction, I run up to her and grab the baby out of her arms, following Sam out the front doors. "He's hurting me!" I vaguely hear the woman yell behind us. I practically dive roll into the back seat with the baby, who has now started to cry because of all the running and jostling. I try my best to soothe him as Dean slides into the front seat half a second before Sam starts to peel out of the parking lot.

"What the heck was that?" I say in a panicked voice, still trying to calm the aby down.

"A shapeshifter," Dean says, wiping his hand clean of the old lady's gooey flesh.

"What the hell does a shifter want with a baby?" Sam says. The baby's cries finally start to subside as we drive out of town.

"Beats me," Dean says.

A totally random, probably not relevant to the situation at hand crosses my mind. "Sam, please tell me you grabbed the baby supplies before bolting out of there?"

Dean turns around and looks at me, an unreadable expression on his face as he stares at the baby in my arms. "Yeah," he says after a moment. "They're down here on the floorboard."

I nod my head as he turns back around, trying to decipher the look that was on his face…it bothered me for some reason. Twenty minutes later, we pull up in front of the motel door. Luckily the place had a room available with a crib. I give Dean a smile of thanks as he opens the back door for me, allowing me to slide out with the baby still in my arms. "We should give him a name," I say as I follow the guys into the room. "I feel bad referring to him as 'the baby' all the time."

"We already did," Dean says as Sam unlocks the door. I arch an eyebrow at him in question. "Bobby John." A little smirk plays at his lips as Sam opens the door for us, letting me go in first.

"Of course," I say, trying to hide my own smile. Of course they would name him after their own father figures. "Alright, I think little Bobby John needs to be changed." The smell emanating from his bottom was undeniable…probably one of the reasons he was so fussy in the car. I grab a towel out of the bathroom, laying it on the dresser before laying Bobby John down on it.

"Wait you're gonna do that here?" Dean says. I turn to look at him, a shocked look on his face.

"What, you want me to hose him down in the shower?" I retort. Dean shakes his head, mumbling something as I start taking the baby's bottoms off. "Dean, bring me a diaper, wipes, butt paste, and a new onsie." This kid had had a monster bm…new clothes were in order.

"Aw man," Dean says, sitting the stuff down by the baby's head. "That's just nasty."

"I'm sure you did it too," I say, lifting Bobby John's bottom half off the towel by holding his legs up in the air with one hand, wiping him clean with another. "And I'm sure your momma didn't call you nasty."

"Yeah, but…" Dean says, not able to come up with a solid argument. "It's still nasty. You're really good at this." I look up at him, sitting the now clean bottom back on the table. He had that look on his face again, something between admiration, wonder, and…fear?

"Thank you," I say. I grab the butt paste, lifting the baby again to apply a generous amount to his rear-end. "Like I said, I thought about going into neo-natal care. Plus, Granny said always said the women in our family were naturals with babies." He watches me in silence as I finish putting on the clean diaper and change Bobby John into a fresh onsie. "Alright, nap time for this little guy," I say, picking him up.

"Here," Dean says suddenly. "Can I try?"

The room is silent for a moment. "Yeah," I say, passing the baby to him. "That's fine." I move a few steps back, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Sam, watching Dean cradle Bobby John to his chest, gently bouncing him up and down. "Are you humming Smoke On the Water?"

"Shut up, it's working," Dean hisses at me. I hold my hands up in innocence watching them for another minute or so before Dean lays the now-sleeping baby down in the crib. "What?" he says, me and Sam both staring at him in disbelief.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. Me, myself…I was impressed, and honestly a little turned on.

"You're just, you weren't horrible at that," Sam says, a hint of wonder in his own voice. "You had this whole Dr. Huxtable vibe about you." He stands walking over to the table.

Dean takes his place, sitting beside me. "Why do I have this feeling you've done that before?" I ask him in a low voice. I watch his eyes cut to Sam for a moment before looking back at me. Dean had told me some about him and Sam growing up, having to watch out for him…practically raise him. Dean doesn't say anything, just gives me a smirk before turning his head to look back at the crib.

"Crap," Sam says suddenly. "I can't believe we missed this."

"What?" I and Dean say in unison, walking over to the table.

Sam points at one of the papers sitting on the table in front of him. "This house on Elm. The mother was killed, baby was grabbed, but daddy wasn't living in the house at the time so he's still alive." He looks up at me and Dean, a shadow of smile at his lips. "What do you say we go and have a chat?"

"Let's," Dean says. He stops in his tracks as a thought hits him. "You go."

"What?"

"You go," Dean repeats. "Me and Rhi will stay here and watch Bobby John."

"I thought that was my job?" I say, arching an eyebrow at him.

"I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone with him while a shifter is out there looking for him," he says to me before turning back to Sam. "You go, I'll stay here."

Sam nods his head a couple times before striding out of the room, not saying a word more on the arrangement. "Don't think I can handle a shifter on my own?" I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

Dean gives me a humorless chuckle as he walks across the room and pours himself a drink out the bottle of whiskey in his bag. "Do you even know what kills a shifter?" I open my mouth and then shut it. "Exactly. It's silver, by the way." A moment or two of silence passes between us as Dean paces the room, stopping once in front of the crib. "You really are good with him," he says, turning to look at me. "Almost like…" The silence settles in again as I sit down on the edge of the bed again, looking up at him. I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but I kept my mouth shut, waiting for him to get it out. "Do you…know you…do you ever want kids?"

That wasn't what I expected him to ask. Maybe a: _are you sure you don't want to go back to work at the hospital? _Or something along those lines. "Um," I say…words suddenly failing me.

"Look," Dean says, sitting down next to me on the bed. "I'm not offering we get down to it now." I grab the drink out of his hand, taking a few sips to calm my suddenly shaking nerves. "I'm just asking if…someday…"

I shut my eyes, taking in a few deep breaths. "Yeah," I say finally. "Someday I would. You?"

He lets out a sigh, taking the drink back and finishing it in one swallow. "At one point in time, I thought I had a kid," I nod my head, remembering him telling me about Lisa and Ben. "I'm still not sure if he's mine or not. She said he wasn't, but still…"

For some reason a small laugh bubbled to my lips at that moment. "A little Dean running around somewhere," I say shaking my head.

"Yeah," he says, mirroring my head shake. "I know, right? But still, I wouldn't have been ready then…to be a father. I was pretty messed up at the time, getting ready to go to hell and all. But with you…" he pauses, taking one of my hands into his own. "I think you're getting me there. Getting me to someone I thought I never would be."

I didn't know what to say back…I don't think there is anything to say to that. I just give his hand squeeze before leaning my head onto his shoulder. We sit there for a moment like that, enjoying the silence and each other's presence. After a while, we move to lay back on the bed, me resting my head on Dean's chest, him an arm wrapped protectively around me. He sits up suddenly reaching over to the table beside the bed for something. I have to stifle a loud laugh as I feel the bed start to vibrate, Dean having turned on the Magic Fingers. He gives me a smile as he lays back down.

I hadn't realized I was drifting off to sleep until I heard Bobby John start to fuss. Dean and I both sit up to see if he was okay, right at the exact moment he sneezes, a large amount of snot-looking goo flying at the wall next to the crib. We move get up and run over to the crib, staring down at the baby in horror and confusion.

"He's-" Suddenly Dean's phone rings. He pulls it out, pressing it to his ear. "Yeah?" he says into it. There's a moment of silence as he listens to the other end, still staring at the baby. I vaguely hear Sam's voice through the phone's speaker saying: _I think the shapeshifter is the baby's dad. _

I reach down and pick up the baby, whose skin as turned from a milky white, to smooth brown, matching the baby on the diaper box. Dean stares at the baby along with me. "You think?"


	4. Chapter 4

"So little Bobby John is a…shifter?" I say, looking at the baby in my hands. I had him held out at arm's length…halfway afraid he may shift away.

"Looks that way," Dean mumbles, sliding the phone into his pocket.

At that moment, all hell breaks loose. Bobby John starts crying suddenly, large fat alligator tears accompanied by loud, wailing cries. "Oh, no baby boy," I coo, cuddling him to my chest. I start walking around the room, gently bouncing him up and down, swaying him side to side, anything to calm him down.

"Why's he crying?" Dean yells over the cries that somehow seem to be getting louder.

"I don't know," I say. "Come on baby…He just won't calm down!"

A knock on the door only makes him cry louder. "It's the manager…everything okay in there?" A voice booms from the other side.

"Yeah, we're fine," Dean yells back.

"There's been complaints…mind open the door sir?" the voice yells back.

I look at Dean with a panic stare. Bobby John's cries were finally starting to subside. Dean motions for me to go into the bathroom. "Now's not really a good time," I hear him yell back as I walk us into the bathroom and shut the door. "I just got out of the shower." I take the baby and hide us in the shower, sliding the frosty looking glass door shut. Bobby John was still letting out little whimpers, but I was able to mask them by covering his mouth. On the other side of the door, I hear some scuffling, words being exchanged, and then two loud gunshots. A second later, the bathroom door opens. I hold my breath as a figure walks over to the shower and flings the door open. "Don't think a shower door would've stopped a shifter," Dean smirks at me.

I roll my eyes at him as he helps me step over the tub ledge and follow him out into the room. On the ground was a dead cop, Sam standing over him. "Come on," he says, giving the guy a light kick in the side, making sure he was dead. "We gotta get going." I nod my head as Dean grabbed up the baby supplies and followed us out the door. Once Bobby John was secured in his seat, he was out like a light. "You know, it's pretty smart, actually. I mean, shifter poses as a guard for the security company to get near the house. Then it scopes out the fam," Sam says, the scenery rolling past the windows of the Impala at a speed faster than necessary.

"Yeah, and then daddy takes off, and shifter becomes daddy." Dean says, slowing the speed of the car now that we were a good distance away from the motel. "A few glasses of wine, shakes momma's trees, comes back in nine months to collect its prize."

"I didn't even know monsters could have babies," I muse, scooting up closer to them so I didn't have to talk that loud.

"You learn something new every day," Sam says, shaking his head. "I've never even seen a baby monster before."

"But he's not a monster," that comment earned me a couple of confused glances. "He's not. Sure his dad is, er, was, but he's not. It's still just a baby. It's not his fault his dad was a shifter."

"Right, but it's still a shifter," Sam says, a deadpan look on his face.

_Am I really having this argument with Sam right now? _"It doesn't change the fact that we have to take care of him," I say.

"Yeah," Dean says…at least he was backing me up. "What the hell are we gonna do with him? Can't drop him at an orphanage…they might get upset when he turns Asian."

There was a moment's silence as we all thought of possibilities. A thought ran through my mind, but Sam beat me to get it out. "Samuel."

"Who?" I say.

"Our grandfather, Samuel," he clarified for me. "He'll know what to do."

"So we're gonna take him to a bunch of hunters?" I snap out, more disdain in my voice than I was aiming for.

"No, we're going to take him to our family," Sam says, an edge in his voice too.

"How well do we know them though?" I ask…I really didn't like the idea of this.

"I do," Sam says, staring straight ahead. "Not every hunter is a head case Rhiannon. Samuel is actually a lot like Dean."

"And Dean's not a head case?" I snap back, sarcasm in my voice.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but you know what I mean," I say, giving Dean a pat on the shoulder. "Sam, I don't like this idea."

"You got a better one?" Sam says. "Besides taking him as your own?"

I stay silent..._what the heck is up with Sam? _"Whatever," I say, leaning back against the backseat, full-on pouting.

~_TTH~_

By the time we pulled up to the gates of the Campbell compound, it was near one in the morning. "I don't like this," I mutter to Dean as he holds the back passenger door open for me. I reach back and grab Bobby John, who was still snoozing, and lay his head on my shoulder.

"Yeah, well, here we are," Dean mutters back. I walk beside him, a few feet behind Sam who had bolted out of the car ahead of us. As we walk inside, a greaser looking guy, complete with slicked back hair walks past us, throwing a smirk my way. I immediately got the creepy vibes from him. "That was Christian," Dean tells me. As we walk into another room a woman with wavy brown hair walks up to us, looking me up and down and then looking at the baby. "And this is Gwen."

"Heard a lot about you," she tells me, her voice kind of gravely for a woman, _must run in the family. _Her gaze shifts from me to Bobby John. "Well aren't you just the best disguise a monster ever wore? I'm kidding, Rhiannon. Relax."

I arch an eyebrow at her, giving her a full on bitch-face. This whole family was giving me the creeps so far. Another guy walks in the room, but doesn't say anything. He just stands in the corner, staring at us. "That's Mark," Dean tells me. "He doesn't say much." I don't say anything. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sam walk into the room, an older guy following him. I could see some family resemblance: the height, strong jaw lines, caring expression in the eyes, yet a don't-mess-with-me attitude. "And this is Samuel," Dean tells me as they walk up to us.

"Rhiannon," Samuel says, shaking my free hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

"You too," I say, as politely as I can.

"What's our next move?" Sam says, getting right down to business.

"I've got a couple of ideas," Samuel says. He takes a step towards me, holding his hands out. "Here, let me see the little guy."

I instinctively take a step backwards. "That's alright, I got him," I don't know why I was being so defensive…this whole situation stunk to me.

Samuel gives me a soft look. "What do you think I'm going to do to him?"

"I don't know if you want me answering that," I say. I think Dean could tell I was thinking about bolting out of the room at that moment, because I felt his hand come to rest on my lower back.

"Well I'm curious," a voice says from the back of the room. I turn around and see Christian walking up towards us. "Who exactly do you think we are?"

"You're hunters," I say simply. It was the truth.

"Maybe that's what you think," he says. He holds his hands out in the air, motioning around the room at everyone. "Everyone around here considers each other family."

"Hey," Dean says, taking a step towards Christian, slightly standing in front of me. "Let's not start fighting."

"Yeah, yeah," Christian responds, in a condescending voice. "Let's not."

I knew at that moment I wanted to clock the guy in his greaser face. "Here, Rhiannon, it's fine," Sam says. He reaches towards me, scooping his hands around Bobby John. "Let me take him. It's okay."

He takes the baby out of my arms and immediately passes him to Samuel. I guess he figured if he took him first and then passed him to their grandfather I's trust him more…but I didn't. "Hey there. You're a big fella, aren't ya? Yeah." Samuel coos at the baby, bouncing up and down slightly. "I haven't held one of these in a long time. Your mom was the tiniest. She was as bald as a cue ball." He looks up and gives Dean and Sam a smirk.

"Okay," I say, starting to get really frustrated. "So what are we going to do with him?"

"Raise him," Samuel says, eyes only for the little boy in his arms.

"Raise him?" I repeat back, slightly hysterical.

"What, do you have another suggestion?" he asks. I start to say something, but he cuts me off. "It's dangerous out there for him Rhiannon."

"And in here it's not?" I say, motioning around the room. "What are you going to do? Poke at him like a science experiment?"

"Your mind goes straight to violence Rhiannon," Christian pipes up. "Don't assume that for everyone."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say swinging around to face him. This guy was really starting to tick me off.

"I heard about your little angel problem last year," he smirks at me.

It takes Dean's arm across my chest to keep me from flying at the guy. "The hell is your problem man?" Dean spits at him.

"You really need to control your woman," he sneers at Dean. I push against Dean's arm at that again. "She's standing there, doubting your family, and you're doing nothing."

"Oh, yeah," I scoff at him. "Some family you've been for…well, their whole lives."

"Okay," Samuel says over whatever Christian was trying to say. "Enough. Nobody's doing anything to him, Rhiannon. When he's old enough, we throw it to him. He wants to volunteer to help out, that's fine."

"Could be great," Mark says from the corner in a low, rumbling voice.

"How?" I say, somewhat mystified he was even talking.

"Think of the hunter he'll grow up to be," he says, a smile growing on his face.

"You all are crazy!" I say, pushing Dean's arm away from me. "You can't do this, it isn't right!"

"Why can't you give us an inch of trust?" Samuel says, a somewhat hurt expression on his face.

"Um, maybe because I don't know you," I snap at him. "There's just a little too much mystery surrounding this family for me to get comfy with y'all."

"Then don't," Samuel says, the hurt look gone and a hard one in its place. "But don't put that on us." He lets out a sigh as he turns and looks at Christian. "You and Arlene still trying for a kid?"

"Yeah, we are," he says. I can already feel my hands starting to shake.

"Well, congratulations," Samuel says. Christian walks up to him, taking the baby out of his arms. "It's a boy…sometimes."

"The crap I do for this family," Christian says, letting out a laugh as he looks down at the baby in his arms.

"Alright, now y'all are just purposely trying to piss me off," I say.

"Go to hell Rhiannon," Christian snaps at me.

Dean puts the arm up in front of me again as I begin to charge towards Christian. "You have no right to raise anything!" I yell at him.

"Why, Rhiannon?" Sam suddenly yells at me. "Because he's a hunter?"

I struck silent…I can't believe Sam said that to me, it wasn't like him. Before anyone can say anything though, some dogs outside the run-down house start parking. Immediately everyone starts moving.

"Check the back door," Samuel says to no one in particular. Forgetting the fight from moments ago, Christian passes Bobby John to Samuel, who passes him pack to me. "Downstairs, panic room. He'll be safe there. Go! Now!"

I nod my head as Bobby John starts crying suddenly. Following Sam and Dean, I half run, half try to calm down the baby…not an easy task. Downstairs, I walk ahead of Sam who is holding open a door leading to an all concrete room, devil's traps all over the floors and walls. We stand down there, listening to the ruckus upstairs. Bobby John continues to let out loud wails as I bounce him up and down, trying to quiet him. A couple gunshots echo through the feeling. "That does not sound good," Dean mumbles.

"I'm going to go up and help," Sam says. He looks at Dean as he grabs the door handle. "Stay with Rhiannon and the baby."

Dean nods his head as Sam turns his head. Once he's facing the door, another Sam appears in the porthole. I back up as far as possible away from the as shifter easily rips the door off its hinges. Sam moves to stab it, but the creature quickly overpowers him, throwing him against the wall and knocking him out. Dean moves next, also trying to stab the creature. He makes the same mistake as his brother and ending against the wall, out cold. The creature turns to me and stares me down. As it walks towards me, a strange waves ripples over it. It loses about a foot of height; the hair becomes longer, shape less muscular and more feminine, turning into me. "Give me the baby," it says, an exact copy of my voice, southern drawl and all.

"What the…" I say, momentarily stunned. I regain my composure, getting a tighter grip on the baby. "No way in hell," I snap at the shifter.

I was totally defenseless. My protection knocked out, arms preoccupied by a baby. The shifter stops about a foot in front of me, not breaking the stare it had on me. It reaches out, grasping my neck in its hand. Slowly, it tightens its grip and pushes me up the wall, cutting off my airway and raising me on the air. I struggle against it, letting go of the baby with one hand and grabbing onto its hand. With only one hand holding the baby, the shifter was able to easily reach up and grab the baby out of my arms. As it lifts the baby away, the lack of oxygen finally got to me and I lose consciousness.

_~TTH~_

When I finally come to, the rumble of the Impala's engine is the first thing I notice. The second thing I notice is the pounding in my head. I let out a hiss as I grab the side of it as I straighten myself, squinting at the highway ahead. "Morning Sleeping Beauty," Dean says, a little too loudly for my pounding head.

"What happened?" I say dully, looking around the car. Only I and Dean were in the car.

"Well, I think I started to come back around as you were losing it," Dean says, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Once you were out, the shifter dropped you and you hit your head pretty hard on the floor. The shifter took the baby and got out of there."

"Dang it," I mumble. I lean my head back against the seat and shutting my eyes, my head was really hurting…I more than likely had a concussion. "Where's Sam at?"

I open my eyes a little and see Dean tighten his grip on the steering wheel. "We…kind of got into it outside the compound," he says, an edge to his voice. "I think he knew about the Alpha shifter, which is what took the baby, and used the baby to lure him there."

I let out a sigh. "Something is off with him," I say quietly. "Where is he anyways?"

"Yeah," Dean says. "I know. He stayed behind at the compound. Said he'd call us with a case when he got one."

"What are we going to do about it?" I ask quietly.

Dean lets out a sigh. "There's nothing to do," he finally says. "But right now, you are going to take these pills," he reaches down in his pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills, giving them a shake. "And try to get some sleep. We'll be back to Bobby's in a few hours."

I nod my head, reaching out for the pills. I grab them and open the top before dropping a couple into my palm. I find an errant water bottle rolling on the floorboard and use the little bit of stale water in it to swallow the pills. Once the pills are down, I curl my feet up underneath me, letting the low music, AC/DC I think, along with the sound of Dean's low singing, lull me to sleep.


End file.
